Child Care Health Dev. 2023 Feb 11. doi: 10.1111/cch.13104. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as abuse and neglect have an immediate impact on children and are associated with poorer health and behavioral outcomes in adulthood. This study examined the prevalence of ACEs and their association with socio-demographic factors, physical and mental health, morbidity, and health-harming behaviors in adulthood among Americans.
METHOD: Data for the study come from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2019, covering a sample of 116,032 adult respondents from 22 states of the US. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, including multiple logistic regression models, were employed to analyze the data.
RESULTS: At least one kind of ACE was found to be quite common among American adults, as 60% of adults had at least one kind of ACE, 22.5% had one ACE, and 17% had four or more ACEs during 0-17 years of life. Of the total ACEs, 42.2% were due to abuse (physical, emotional, or sexual), and 46% were due to any kind of household dysfunction. There is an increasing trend in ACEs in the US. Adults with low socio-economic status, female, living in urban areas, gay or bisexual orientation, minority other than White, and unemployed had a significantly higher prevalence of ACEs than their counterparts. ACEs were found to be significantly associated with poor physical and mental health, health-harming behaviors such as binge drinking, heavy drinking, and smoking, as well as chronic morbidities.
CONCLUSION: Programs aimed at reducing ACEs and mitigating the harms of ACEs among those who have already experienced them should be strengthened to improve public health, quality of life, and reduce health-harming behaviors.
PMID:36772922 | DOI:10.1111/cch.13104
